With school being quite different from the norm during the pandemic, the AGGV is excited to lend a helping hand with our Teacher Resource Guides.

With school being quite different from the norm during the pandemic, the AGGV is excited to lend a helping hand with our Teacher Resource Guides. Whether school is in person, a hybrid option or fully virtual, our guides are easy to access, free to download and use in any classroom in Victoria, across BC and beyond. While the Teacher Resource Guides were created with approximately grade 4-9 learners in mind, these guides can easily be adapted and enjoyed by learners from K to 12.

There are two guides to choose from. Powerful Pictures: Representation and Storytelling features dynamic artwork by thought-provoking artists such as Sonny Assu, Terrance Houle, Meryl McMaster and Marianne Nicolson. In the Present Moment examines the impact of Buddhism on art in North America from the post-war period (c. 1950) to the present, and features artists Nakahara Nantenbo, Mark Tobey, Pauline Oliveros, Tenzing Rigdol and Dylan Thomas.

In the YouTube video featured here, AGGV Educator, Jeri, interprets activities from the Teacher Resource Guide for In the Present Moment, which is inspired by the multi-phase research and exhibition project of the same name that looks at Buddhism in relation to contemporary art and social practice. Join Jeri in the studio and follow along to create your own Enso in a hands-on learning activity inspired by the work of Nakahara Nantenbo, an artist who produced a significant number of Zen paintings with his Enso from 1925 in our collection being among his many artworks.

To learn more about the Teacher Resource Guides or to download them, visit the AGGV website.

Feature image: Meryl McMaster (Canadian First Nations; Plains Cree, born 1988) | Wingeds Calling | 2012 | digital chromogenic print | 94.6 × 130.9 cm | Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Grants program and the Burri-Tobey Art Acquisitions Fund (2015.014.002)